The Rape of Europa (dir. R. Berge, B. Cohen & N. Newnham, USA, 2006, 117 min.)

Denied admission to art school, Adolf Hitler used the theft of art as a weapon during World War II. This documentary film examines Nazi looting of the great museums and private art collections of Europe in an attempt to obliterate cultural identities. The film’s epic scope explores a descendant of painter Gustav Klmit’s flight to regain a portrait of her aunt, Louvre staff members who packed and moved 400,000 pieces of art as the Nazis advanced, and the “Monuments Men” who plumbed salt mines to recover stolen art after the war. Narrated by Joan Allen. Shown on DVD.

This program is presented in collaboration with the Butler University Mahler Project.